'Kwak Bin complains of hip pain' had reason for being pulled after 6 innings, 81 pitches; "Will monitor condition until tomorrow" [Jamsil Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan Bears manager Kim Won-hyeong (54) pulled ace Kwak Bin (27), who had pitched flawlessly through six innings, after just 81 pitches. Immediately in the seventh inning, Hanwha tied the game. The decision was not immediately understandable — but there was a reason.

Manager Kim Won-hyeong met with reporters ahead of Doosan Bears' home game against Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 12th, stating, "He was in a position to pitch in the seventh inning but reported slight discomfort in his hip."

On the 11th against Hanwha, Kwak Bin threw only 81 pitches over six innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out ten batters without surrendering any runs. The Hanwha lineup struggled to hit him effectively. His fastball, clocked at a top speed of 157 km/h, consistently hit the corners of the strike zone, delivering a near-perfect pitching performance that was impossible to attack.

However, Kim Jeong-woo took the mound in the seventh inning. Even if he were scheduled to pitch again on the 16th against KIA Tigers, the substitution felt premature. In hindsight, both Kim Jeong-woo and Kim Taek-yeon who followed allowed home runs to Kang Baek-ho and Chae Eun-seong, tying the game and eliminating Kwak Bin's chance at his tenth win.

With Manager Kim's explanation, the situation became fully understandable. Fortunately, it appears the injury is not serious. The manager noted that if there had been no injury concern, Kwak would have pitched in the seventh inning as planned and started normally on the 16th game.

However, he suddenly reported pain, making his scheduled appearance on the 16th uncertain. "Yesterday I felt some discomfort and told him to stop there for today," said Manager Kim. "We will monitor his condition until tomorrow." He added, "He came out today to warm up, and the training staff reported that after a day of rest, he feels somewhat better."

Despite the setbacks, Doosan extended their winning streak to four games. Today, Wes Benjamin, who has emerged as a key pitcher for Doosan's mound, will take the hill. Having secured victories in both games against Hanwha with an ERA of 0.75, expectations are high that he can help extend the winning streak to five.

Doosan lined up its starting lineup against opposing starter Owen White as follows: Kim Daehyun (right fielder), An Jae-seok (third baseman), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Yang Ui-ji (catcher), Kim Min-seok (left fielder), Park Ji-hoon (first baseman), Yunion Severino (designated hitter), Park Chan-ho (shortstop), and Jung Soobin (center fielder).

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*This content was translated by AI.